A terrifying incident unfolded in Chicago when a van carrying children was smashed by a massive tree as the Midwest continues to endure fierce tornadoes and severe weather conditions.
Michael McIntosh was at the wheel of a van loaded with six children from Riveredge Hospital, situated in the Forest Park suburb, on a Wednesday afternoon.
As McIntosh was about to drop off 11-year-old Ethan Duran at his home on Henderson Street, an enormous tree unexpectedly crashed down on the white Ford van, causing the roof to collapse on the children inside.
“It just bounced on my head and came back up,” McIntosh recounted to CBS Chicago. “I look back, and I just see the kids, and I am like, ‘Let’s get the kids out of here.’”
McIntosh expressed his gratitude multiple times, saying he was “just happy to be alive” following the ordeal.
‘I thought I was dead,’ McIntosh told the outlet.
Ethan said he was glad the tree ‘did not smoosh’ the vehicle or McIntosh would have gotten hurt, but admitted that he was shaken by the traumatic moment.
‘I started crying because I got so scared and my legs started shaking,’ Ethan said.
A white Ford van carrying six kids was crushed by a gigantic tree in Chicago’s Forest Park suburb on Wednesday afternoon as the Midwest faces heavy thunderstorms
Van driver Michael McIntosh said the roof of the van bounced on his head after the tree fell on his vehicle
No injuries were reported after the tree fell onto the vehicle that was transporting six children from Riveredge Hospital
McIntosh claimed the press responded to the fallen tree before an ambulance and the police.
Ethan’s mom, Soledad Galban, described the moment the tree came crashing down as a ‘loud boom.’
Galban said she and her family grabbed all of the kids and rushed them inside her house, from where their respective parents were called.
No injuries were reported from Wednesday’s incident and the downed branches were cleared from the van by neighbors.
Its windshield was shattered, but not broken through by the impact of the tree.
The storms also caused thousands of customers lost power around the Chicago area on Wednesday.
ComEd reported that more than 5,600 outages were affecting roughly 200,000 customers, according to CBS Chicago.
The electric provider said on X that it expected 80 percent of outages to be restored by 11pm on Saturday based on the ‘history of similar storms of this size.’
Equipment was affected by the downed power lines, broken poles and fallen trees from the storm.
However, it warned that more severe weather on Thursday ‘could create further challenges.’
The thunderstorms also temporarily paralyzed travel in the area, as more than 1,000 flights were canceled or delayed out of O’Hare International Airport, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
As of Thursday morning, more than 5,600 outages were affecting roughly 200,000 customers around the Chicago area, according to ComEd
Severe storms struck the Chicago area on Wednesday. They were expected to continue into Thursday with damaging winds and hail expected, according to the National Weather Service
A tornado was spotted in Unionville, Missouri, on Wednesday, as the Midwest continues to battle severe storms
Wednesday’s storms caused damage to other areas in the Midwest, as well.
In Wisconsin, tornado warnings were issued and about 80,000 people were left without power, according to WBAY.
Heavy rain, winds and hail were reported in the northeast part of the state.
Meanwhile, Northern Missouri saw heavy thunderstorms with intense rain and some hail, KMBC reported.
A tornado was reported near Gallatin, about 270 miles northwest from St. Louis, around 4.35pm local time on Wednesday by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office.
Central Nebraska saw trees and power lines downed from the damage, per KSNB.
The same held true in Northeast Ohio, where thousands were left without electricity because of the thunderstorms, according to WOIO.
In Western Minnesota, multiple train cars were derailed from the severe storms which caused wind gusts that topped 70 miles per hour, according to KSTP.
The potentially dangerous storms were expected to continue today around the Midwest.
The inclement weather conditions also caused more than 1,000 flights to be delayed or canceled out of Chicago’s main airport
The storms wreaked havoc across the Midwest. In Western Minnesota, train cars were derailed by wind gusts that reached more than 70 miles per hour
Ohio was one off the states to see damage from the thunderstorms, with thousands losing power
On Thursday, the National Weather Service’s office in Chicago said that a strong threat of strong tornadoes had increased over the last several hours.
Two waves of ‘severe’ storms were expected, with damaging winds and hail from 11am to 3pm, then 4pm to 11pm.
Gusts up to 60 miles per hour were expected, alongside the possibility of some flash flooding.
A severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect for parts of Western and Central Iowa, Northern Missouri, as well as South Central and Eastern Nebraska, the NWS added.
Meanwhile, a tornado watch was still active in Southern and Eastern Iowa, Northern Illinois and far Northern Missouri as of Thursday morning.